Schools
No Damage Reported at Stadium Field in Graduation Day Flash Flood
Graduation was moved from the water-laden turf field to the front lawn but the waters receded shortly after the ceremony began
The flash flood that took the county by storm–literally–and did not cause any known damage, school officials said Monday night.
School board president Michele Lenhard told Patch after the Monday school board meeting that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein has not advised the elected school officials of any damage to RHS Stadium Field.
Often criticized by neighbors of the athetic fields, Lenhard said the district remains committed to ongoing maintenance of all its facilities–including the fields.
LandTek, tasked with the "deep cleaning" of the fields on a twice-annual basis, was unable to complete its work earlier in the month due to inclement weather but the contractor was back on Monday working on Stadium Field, according to Lenhard.
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The flash flood that rocked the county in the early afternoon breached the banks of the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook by nearly a half-foot on Friday, cascading water on the southern and eastern sections of the turf field.
However, by roughly 5:30 p.m.–long after the district scrambled to find an alternate spot to hold the graduation, which irked some parents unable to see their graduating seniors walk arm-in-arm–the water on the turf had all but disappeared and the rushing water in the brook was safely within its banks.
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Fishbein said at the school board meeting that credit should be given to the maintenance crew for its work in setting up the graduation, despite the few hours of near-chaos.
Board member Sheila Brogan asked at the Monday night school board meeting if the district would be working toward putting up bollards on the bridge, to presumably to limit large vehicles from driving over the bridge–which an .
One of the district contractors will work on it when he's on site, Fishbein said in response. No specific time-frame was cited.
"We can put a sign up but just thought we'd put the bollards up and save a few dollars," Fishbein said.
The superintendent also said the district is working with the contractors to keep the gates shut.
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